My Fated Fortune
by Monkey D. Anea
Summary: "His childhood curves under his eye," going to a fortune teller leads to unexpected things. Or: Kid's not the worst brother ever.


Law is a surgeon so naturally he's also a man of science. But believe it or not, he was also raised by a very superstitious man. He could give you a list of what Corazón believes in.

 _"Law! Don't step on a crack! Otherwise, it'll break my back! Doflamingo, this is your influence!"_

 _"Don't laugh at night or you'll cry tomorrow! I don't want my baby boy to cry!"_

 _"I swear that I had heard something whispering to me last night! No! It wasn't Doffy!"_

 _"If you drop the salt you have to throw it over your shoulder like this! Help! The stove's on fire!"_

How a person sets their kitchen on fire with salt, Law guesses that it's something only Cora-san can manage to accomplish. He shakes his head at the thought, a grin curving his lips at the memory of Cora-san's flaming pink boa. Glancing up at the sign labeled: _Know your everything_. The grin quickly fades into a frown, glaring at the sign in golden letters from on a pastel green sign hanging above the brown door with a brass doorknob and handmade welcome sign.

Law raises his hand to knock after noting the absent doorbell, before it opens to reveal an older woman with kind blue eyes that look younger than his own and sparkle with freedom that creases her eyes along with her plump lips. Looking closer, he can see faded scars on her revealed arms and one diagonal line running down her left eye that he didn't notice before. She also has a gold ball piercing in her nose, on the same side of her scarred eye, and long golden earrings with a blue gem on the bottom that brush against the purple cowl hanging off her bony shoulders. Truly, she looks like all the stories that describe fortune tellers, strange and mysterious.

The old woman stretches out her hand, a wedding ring rests on her ring finger as her kindly smile twists into a mischievous grin more suited for a devious child.

"So, a nonbeliever then?"

Before Law can protest, her older fingers—as slender as his own—twine with his. The mischevios grin soon turns into a motherly smile. Though he's not known for being kind to everyone, even he's not so cruel as to push her away and say something unkind. Instead, he prepares to use the same methods he has used more than once on old women that he's treated before by trying to slide his fingers free gently.

"No, Miss?"

The old woman doesn't bother with a reply, merely throws her head back in a laugh with her long and curly gray hair tossed over her shoulders and a smile that makes her appear years younger. At the bizarre behavior, Law frowns and begins to question if this is such a good idea for the umpteenth time since making the appointment and driving here.

"You have quite the soulmate!" she suddenly bellows.

A few moments passes with her laughter quieting tremendously, until all that's left of the outburst is red cheeks, disheveled hair, and the very same devious grin that alludes to more chaotic younger years. During this time, Law merely frowns and wonders how long it will be until he's back at home, chatting with Bepo over the latest news at the hospital and rubbing his fortune in Eustass' face.

"Anyhoo," she offers her hand again. "Silence, my dear."

Quirking a brow, Law feels his frown deepen as he shoots the older woman an incredulous stare.

The old woman rolls her eyes, before elaborating.

"My name is Silence."

Nodding in understanding, Law shakes her hand.

"Trafalgar Law."

Silence nods, before bowing with a grin.

"It seems we both have strange names." She turns and beckons with a hand to follow, pushing the door further open. Law follows, frowning at being treated like a dog. Inside, it has the strong scent of jasmine that seems to cling to her clothing as she moves. Her flowing, black dress follows after her with gems of various colors glinting underneath the few candles sitting on shelves.

"I suppose you're unsure of what you wish to see?" Silence glances over her shoulder, those young blues meeting his grey's, before she's turning back around. Suddenly, turning the corner of the dimly lit halls absent of any decorations, she steps into a room that seems to serve as a kitchen, bedroom, and place where she reads fortunes if the crystal ball sitting on a table in the center is anything to go by.

"That's fine," she says dismissively.

"I'll tell you of your soulmate!" Silence announces, after settling herself into a chair across from another chair at the table holding the crystal ball. Law eases into the chair across her, eyeing the crystal ball warily before taking the old woman's offered hands. After he does so, she closes her eyes and begins to speak quietly, almost inaudible, to the crystal ball or herself.

Before long, Silence quiet words become humming.

She cracks open an eye, tightening her hold on his hands with a grin. "It's his favorite song, an old sea shanty!" Silence chuckles. "Yes, it's a he."

Law narrows his eyes and can already hear Eustass' laughter while pondering if his bisexuality is as noticeable as his brother claims. "With those stupid heeled boots and curves? Fuck Trafalgar, just wear a fucking sign! It'll make it much fucking easier to get laid."

Redheaded baboon.

Without responding, she continues. "His spirit is wild and carefree." Silence hums, frowning as her eyebrows pinch. "This will spell trouble for you and those around him." She grins. "Thankfully, it's a good kind of trouble." Law feels his frown deepen, watching the apparent closed eyed amusement dance across her features while imagining his 'soulmate's' face.

"His smile," that same pinched effort between her eyebrows, "is like... everything good all at once." The pinched effort remains, along with her lips thinning into an almost grimace. "And he knows pain better than most but understands all." Her eyes open, meeting his own briefly like in the hallway.

The brief flash of blue sends shivers down his spine that Law struggles to will away. Which is ridiculous, with all the horrifying things that he's had to see in his lifetime.

"His hair is dark, almost like the night itself." Silence hums thoughtfully. "And his eyes are the same shade, always so dark, but also fond for those he holds dear."

Law doesn't respond, busy contemplating the expression crossing the old woman's expressive face and trying to conjure the image of his so-called soulmate.

"His childhood is a curve beneath his eye." Silence frowns once again, the wrinkles at the corners of her mouth pulling down. "A straw hat... no, it's a promise."

"You're my brother." She whispers forlornly. "Ace like the card that now marks his chest."

Those young, blue eyes open fully, suspiciously damp. "Despite this, he is destined for great things." She grins more teeth than plump lips. "With a strange goal indeed."

Law swallows and asks, "What's his name?"

Silence reply is unhesitating and immediate. "L to Y with three letters in between."

Law frowns in distaste, narrowing his eyes.

She snorts, rolling her eyes again in a way that has Law questioning about why he should be kind to the old hag when all she appears to do is tease him and give him riddles of probably made up information. "What, cradle robber? Anymore and that'll take the magic away from it."

Law narrows his eyes, fishing out what he owes her from his trench coat and standing. "Thank you." He grits out before attempting to navigate the dimly lit hallways without tripping and knocking the white candles from their shelves.

"Anytime, boy!"

The old woman cackles, probably leaning back to count the wad of bills.

* * *

After navigating his way through the dimly lit hallways successfully, Law places his hands in his pockets' and attempts to bury himself further into his trench coat at another gust of wind that brings color to his cheeks and a phantom ache to his ears that'll no doubt be an ear infection a week from now. The colored leaves that have left their trees in an act of nature dot the parking lot in oranges and browns and in stained red. The chill is a bite that will increase in the coming months.

The walk to his car isn't far, but the chilling cold makes the walk more than unpleasant. He's had to make worse walks in far worse weather, Punk Hazard is an example of more than one hike in the cold when he went abroad to work with a few of his uncles associates. Referring to their company, the freezing walks were more tolerable than listening to Monet flirt and Ceasar offer his sick ideas while Vergo gave him work that had him contemplating whether he could throw his uncle off a mountain and get away with it. By the harsh glare always directed at him from the man who rivaled his uncle in tyranny, his thoughts weren't well concealed.

Law's single-minded focus is broken as someone bumps into him, the flash of green only pausing to offer a ' _sorry_ ' in a deep, monotone voice before continuing on his trek to wherever he needs to be. Momentarily stunned by the choice of hair color, deep voice, and scarred eye, it takes him a moment to gather his bearing and continue on the way to his car.

Sadly, the universe loves sending him idiots, because for the second time in the brief walk to his car a few vehicles away, someone else bumps into him. Or, well, perhaps the term _runs_ is more accurate with the force that sends him stumbling a step and swearing with a deft hand to prevent his hat from meeting the pavement.

"Shishishi~Sorry, sorry."

And for a second time, Law finds himself stunned.

The man—no, the face is too round and grin too childish—the teen that ran into him has large eyes, maybe a dark brown that appears black, and his dark hair is undoubtedly black in color that sticks out at the corners the straw hat sitting on his head fails to cover with a small scar curved under his eye, childish yet rough, giving him an almost mischievous air.

 _Fuck_ , he internally swears, and swears he can hear the Gypsy cackling as the descriptions she gave mocks him in the form of a grinning teenager.

"Hey, are you okay?"

The teen's tilting his head, eyebrows creased over his large eyes in confusion. He's expressive and childish and too young to be his soulmate; the old women has probably seen him around the parking lot, might have even talk to him before—soulmates aren't real, they _can't_ be.

Another wind gusts by, almost as if the universe is challenging him. Fortunately, perhaps unfortunately, Law's not one to back down in the face of a challenge and does believe in fate despite being skeptics of soulmates. So he clears his throat and awkwardly offers his hand.

"It's fine. I'm Trafalgar Law."

The teen appears momentarily stunned, before that wide grin is back in place and a smaller, yet surprisingly firm, hand is shaking his happily.

"Shishishi~ I'm Monkey D. Luffy! I thought something was wrong with you, Torao!" frowning at the nickname goes unnoticed as the teen continues. "You looked like you were trying to think or somethin'. Thinking's hard, huh Torao? Unless you're Robin, but Robin's always thinking!"

Law stares in bewildered amusement as the teen laughs, pausing in his rambling with his lips quirked and eyes closed. He's strange and outgoing, and probably with a lot of willful friends.

"Eh, I forgot." Luffy pauses, frowning. "Have you seen Zoro? He always gets lost. Nami yells at him and Sanji makes fun of him 'n they usually fight 'cause of it. Sanji's cool though and cooks really yummy food. Shishishi~ Maybe Sanji will cook for you, too!"

Law smirks, quirking a brow. "I don't know, Straw Hat. How does Zoro look?"

Luffy pauses again, before he grins. "Hey! Your voice sounds nice Torao! Shishishi~"

"Luffy!"

"Where the hell are you, shithead!"

"Luffy, we'll late!"

"Yeah, s- _uuuuu_ per late!"

"I agree, Luffy-kun."

A variety of voices shout from somewhere near them, if the echo on the words is anything to go by.

Luffy's grinning when he looks back, presumably grinning at the source of the voices. Law's struck by how _utterly_ fond he looks. Like the people calling for him are the world and the ground he's standing on is just a filler to keep his feet up, as unimportant as the leaves gusting past them.

"I presume you have to be somewhere, Straw Hat?"

Luffy blinks at him, before grinning in a way that's just a mere shadow of the thing he saw directed at the voices of the people lucky enough to belong to him.

"Yeah," Luffy pouts, "but I wanna keep talkin' to you, Torao!"

Law smirks, ignoring the ' _oh'_ in his mind and flutter in his stomach. "I feel the same. Perhaps you'll give me your number so we can continue this conversation later?"

Luffy grins, either unaware or uncaring of his flirting. "Good idea, Torao!"

At another wave of shouts, there's a hastily scribbled number being pressed into his palm and ' _Bye_ ' with that same grin from before directed at _him_ before he can offer his own.

After the bright eyed teenager disappears past a few buildings, Law glances at the phone number and smirks before pocketing it.

Maybe soulmates aren't so farfetched after all.


End file.
